Fifth Third Bank has formed a division known as Fifth Third Processing Solutions as a part of a business partnership with Advent International. Midwest Payment Systems was the business’s name when it entered the credit card processing sector in 1991.
In our Fifth Third Processing Solutions review we found that in 2003, the company changed its name to Fifth Third Processing Solutions, reflecting its position as a leader in the industry. Fifth Third Processing Solutions got listed as the fourth largest bank card processor in the United States in 2008. This ranking was achieved in the year 2008. Since it was founded, the company has grown by purchasing several other credit card processors and ISOs.
Fifth Third Processing Solutions provides a comprehensive selection of merchant services and hardware. Some of these companies include ACI Card Services, Card Management Company (CMC), TNB Card Services, and National Credit Card processor (NPC). At the time of writing this evaluation, the organization has been given an “A+” rating by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), even though nine complaints had been lodged against it during the past 36 months.
Fifth Third Processing Solutions Review
Fifth Third Processing Solutions was initially established in 1991; however, since then, the company has gone through several rebrandings. After completing its Fifth Third Processing Solutions acquisition in 2019, Vantiv is now operating under the name Vantiv.
FIS Vantiv provides its merchants with a comprehensive range of payment processing services. All sizes and types of businesses can make use of these services. However, given the company’s preference for specific contracts and price arrangements, they are a good fit for larger businesses than smaller ones.
FIS Vantiv favors a contract for three years and automatically renews itself once it is finished. The price mechanism that the corporation utilizes is known as interchange plus, although the company does not reveal any precise details regarding its pricing plans or merchant accounts. We know that if a merchant wishes to terminate their agreement with FIS Vantiv at an earlier date, they will be required to pay an early termination fee of $295.
Merchants can contact Vantiv’s customer service team by phone or email anytime, day or night. However, the company has been hit with a significant number of complaints, most of which concern the hefty cancellation costs it charges and the fact that it does not disclose the terms of the contracts it enters into.
Complaints, Fees, Rates, Customer Feedback
Fifth Third Processing Solutions Review Based on Rates and fees
FIS Vantiv needs to provide more information about its pricing structure or costs. Beginning the process of signing up with them is the only way to discover your prices. Vantiv’s website has a quote maker for users’ convenience. This gives merchants a rough estimate of the fees they would be responsible for paying if they used FIS Vantiv.
However, when working with FIS Vantiv, you shouldn’t consider the price generated by the company’s quote generator to be your final cost. It will display an expensive tiered price structure that needs to reflect the company’s most fabulous offer accurately. Instead, you should negotiate directly with Vantiv to increase your chances of obtaining a pricing plan that includes interchange-plus pricing and better rates.
Fifth Third Processing Solutions Review Based on Complaints and customer feedback
FIS The Better Business Bureau has given Vantiv a terrible grade of C-, which is the lowest possible score. This grade is a direct result of the significant amount of complaints received regarding the company. These allegations share a number of common threads, the most prominent of which are that Vantiv does not disclose the terms of its contracts, withholds cash, and charges excessive cancellation fees.
More than 200 complaints about Vantiv are not filed with the Better Business Bureau. Some of these complaints depict the company as a con or a fraud. The protests can be broken down into four basic categories: unpleasant sales methods, the fund holds, surprise early termination fees, and bad customer service are the most typical sorts of complaints made by merchants.
A total of 265 complaints have been lodged in the past 36 months, a decrease from the 282 complaints lodged as of our most recent update. Of these complaints, 130 are related to items and services, 127 are connected to billing and gathering, and eight are related to issues with advertising or sales. There have been 185 complaints that have either been addressed to the merchants’ disappointment or have yet to receive a final answer from the merchant.
As a result of the significant rise in complaints received by the BBB regarding Vantiv, they have decided to downgrade the company’s rating to a “C” for the assessment. Seventy-five of these complaints have been addressed to the merchants’ satisfaction. Vantiv did not provide a single response to any of the five concerns.
Fifth Third Processing Solutions Review Based on Advertising and Sales
The advertising of FIS Vantiv’s services is done through several different platforms, with an emphasis on social media. Although the organization does not engage in deceptive advertising techniques, it needs to provide more explicit or detailed information regarding its contracts or pricing.
Regarding marketing and selling its products and services, Vantiv relies on independent sales reps and an in-house workforce. Independent salespeople from FIS Vantiv were the subject of many complaints over their misleading sales practices and the information they had withheld from customers. Dealing with in-house salespeople whenever possible is typically recommended for business owners.
Conclusion
In comparison to its size and length of time in operation, Vantiv looks to be operating at a level of overall merchant happiness that is comparable to the industry average findings of poor customer service and reports of failure to disclose the fee for early termination prior to the setting up of accounts are the factors that bring the company’s rating down.
Another factor in our Fifth Third Processing Solutions review that brings the rating down is the extensive use of sub-ISOs, re-sellers, and subsidiaries (a strategy that makes the quantification of merchant gratification difficult to quantify). In addition, some of Vantiv’s sub-ISOs and companies have filed various claims, for which Vantiv might or might not be responsible in some way.
